Inflamed By Hate
by Kf103Pixie
Summary: Ally Dawson was a shy teenager, but that was then, and this is now. Now, she is the most popular female recording artist in the world with two world records to give her a boost. Even with all the offers she's gotten, she's still kept her two best friends by her side. But what people didn't expect was when they found out that Austin Moon was what drove her to pure stardom.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AUSTIN & ALLY!**

**A/N: I got the idea to write this one-shot while my iPod was on shuffle and it started playing all of the best breakup-to-regenerate songs in a row. So, I figured 'Hey...it would be awesome if Ally did this!' In this one, Austin and Cassidy are pretty OOC, but it works out in it.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

Igniting spotlights flashed all around the indoor stadium. Some showing the fans with the most creative poster and some of people jumping around like there was no tomorrow.

The only way to tell who was wearing what or what they looked like was the white and purple blinding lights that lit up the stage.

All of the teenagers, little kids, and annoyed parents were singing along to one of their favorite songs from her. They all knew every beat of all of her songs like they knew how to tie their shoes.

"_You can't touch me now, there's no feeling left. If you think I'm coming back, don't hold your breath." _She belted out.

Nobody could dare to find something hurtful to say about her. Mainly because there was nothing to hate about her. She was the nicest and modest person that anybody could meet in their lifetime. If you asked people what it was like to meet her, they would say _'She's my inspiration! She's so nice and amazing that I wanna be like her someday!"_

Her trip to stardom and sold-out concerts wasn't easy, but it was worth every bit of it. She held a few records in the book of world records. All of them involving music. One was for quickest sold-out album, and that was in two days, three hours, and twenty-six minutes. Another was for quickest sold-out concert, and that was in only 2.6 seconds. She would have the world record for quickest number one single, but she was just one second behind from that foreign boy band, One Direction**(1)**.

There she stood, customary designed microphone gripped tightly in hand. Her stage outfit was white ripped summer shorts with a gold-bedazzled tank top and her favorite white combat boots to finish off the look.

Her hair was professionally curled into perfect spirals which was kept into place by her favorite hairspray, _Long Live_**(2)**. Coca brown eyeshadow was carefully applied onto her upper and lower eyelids. Dark brown eyeliner was right above her luscious black eyelashes in a fine line. Her lips were the shade of _Watermelon Kiss_**(3)**, which complemented her fairly tanned completion.

The way she danced around the large stage was incredible even if you were there or not. If you compared it to her dancing from when she was a teenager, you would've thought you had mistaken the two. But you didn't, because there were the same person.

She, was Alison Dawson- triple-threat for singing, dancing, and songwriting- playing a sold-out live T.V. Concert for MTV at the Staples Center**(4)**.

She switched the microphone from her right hand to her left so she could reach out into the audience. Teenage girls were decked out in her latest t-shirts and her newest clothing line. Cameras were following her every move as she moved along and danced next to each member of her band.

Music echoed through the stadium and into the thousands of ears. The booming was so loud that it vibrated the cement floors every time a note was played.

Dancing with the back-up dancers, she adjusted her eye sight to the white spotlight that was focusing on every movement she made.

As she finished the dance solo, she struck her famous end-song pose. Her feet were spread apart by about a foot and a half. Her left leg was bent towards her right and the knee cap was pointed in the middle, her left foot was practically balancing on her tip-toes. Her right hand pressed into her waist as she bent halfway down and her left hand was pointing to the ceiling as it was elevated above her head.

"_Don't hold your breath_**(5)**_" _She sang, finishing one of her personal favorite songs.

The audience roared in applause and screaming _'I love you!'_. It took maybe about five minutes for them to calm down, but they finally did.

She walked up to the center of the stage and adjusted her left ear piece. This was the part of the concert where her dancers would take five and she would talk to the audience. This way her band and the dancers wouldn't be exhausted for the second half of the concert.

Normally, she would tell the fans about how much she appreciated them for supporting her and how much it means to her. This time was going to be different, though, She was still going to thank them of course, but she was also going to tell them her story.

Never once had she told any of the interviewers or fans the full story of what brought her to stardom. All she told was that she was underestimated, so she proved them wrong. That was true, but that was all she told.

As the band tuned up for the second half, she walked up to the end of the T-shaped stage. Three spotlights zoned in on her petite body. Even for a twenty-one year old, she was still considered fun-sized for her. After thanking the audience and all of her other fans who couldn't be here, she walked up the platform and turned around once again so she was facing the entire audience.

"Okay, no we're gonna change things up a bit." She panted. She was out of breath as always from the dance solo even after she's done it at every single concert for her _'Live to Breath_**(6)**_' _tour.

"You all know that what brought me to stardom was being underestimated, but I never told you _how _I was." She knew that once she started her story, there was no turning back. "So for being the most amazing fans in the entire world, I'm going to share the story of how I got here. How I got to stardom." She said, getting her breathing under control.

She never told this story because it was always hard for her to even _think _about it.

But they were her fans, they deserved to know what caused her to pick up a microphone in the first place.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no backing out now, and that's what she knew. "I wasn't always like this. When I was sixteen, I was shy, insecure, and _really _quirky." She said, laughing a little bit at the end.

It was true. When Alison Dawson was sixteen years old, she would trip over air. She was known as the 'klutz of the twenty-first century'. She remembered when she would have to say left and right while going down a staircase without a railing**(7)**.

"I used to dance like this." She stated, dancing like she did when she was a teenager. She stomped her feet and flailed her arms around.

This earned several laughs from the audience. She laughed along with them because she always laughed whenever she danced like _that_.

"And all I used to wear were long skirts, t-shirts, and closed toe shoes." She said, pursing her lips together in a thin line as she nodded her head twice. "But that was when I was sixteen." She finished off. She knew that once she told people this, that it was going to make headlines in all of the magazines. She knew that this would be the main story on Clevver TV**(8)** for weeks.

"That all changed, because when I was sixteen, I was the pathetic and good-for-nothing Ally Dawson that was used by the people she thought were her friends. The one that thought that life was as good as it could be at the time. Boy, was I wrong!" _Good,_ she thought. Now, it was time for the hard part.

"The sixteen year old that was in love with her best friend and music partner, Austin Moon." She choked out. She could feel her heart sinking as she remembered.

"This is my story."

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**A/N: Okay I don't know if I should continue this or not, so review and tell me if I should! Also, review and tell me what you thought about it! So basically just review, review for all of those red pigs that are mistaken as pink on a daily basis!**

**WHAT WE LEARN AFTER THE ALPHABET:**

**1- One Direction holds the record for fastest song to become #1 on iTunes in only 11-12 minutes! That's my boys!**

**2- I have no idea if this is an actual hairspray, it's just the name of a Taylor Swift song.**

**3- Still, I have no idea if this is a real lip gloss flavor, but if it was real, it would be so cute!**

**4- Staples Center...THE BIGGEST PLACE TO PREFORM besides Times Square on New Years Eve in New York. Hey, what a coincidence? That's Austin's biggest dream career -wise on the actual show!**

**5- I DO NOT OWN THE AMAZING SONG ****_'DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH' _****BY NICOLE SCHERZINGER! Just imagine this as the Kaskade Remix version, cause it's AMAZAYN!**

**6- I made up this name, it was burning in the back of my head just waiting to be portrayed onto the electrodynamic screening that replaces the decomposed tree's letters. True chiz, bro.**

**7- This is basically what Zeke did on ****_'Wizards of Waverly Place'_**** when he was walking down the staircase in the Substation. I miss that show so much!**

**8- I DO NOT OWN CLEVVER T.V.! THE PEOPLE THAT OWN IT ARE THE ONES THAT OWN IT, NOT ME!**

**Question:**** What is the one thing that you always do every single time you're home alone and nobody else is around?**

**That One Moment:**** When you're trying to sleep, but your friend keeps on texting you and they just don't get the concept of ****_'Ttyl, sleepin now.' _****Ever had that happen to you?**

**THAT is all my lovely readers! So until next time...**

**CUPCAKES!**

**No...But I wish...**

**BYE!**


	2. Author's Note Please Read

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**Trust me, I hate these as much as you do, but I had to write one to explain myself.**

**I know all of you have noticed how my updates are really spaced out from each other, and I'm not doing that on purpose. I know what I'm trying to write, but I just can't really ****_type _****it out. It usually isn't like this for me, but what I'm dealing some personal problems and it's hard for me to be ecstatic like I usually am for writing my stories and reading the other fanfics. **

**I know that this also is considered an excuse to some, but it's my reason for absence to others.**

**I don't know exactly when I'm going to be able to update on any of my stories, but I can tell you all how far I am on them.**

**Will You Smile For Me?****- Haven't begun chapter nine yet.**

**Inflamed By Hate****- 5/8 finished, it's the starter so there isn't going to be dramatic; but it does get you wondering. Two words to describe it: cheesy, sappy**

**Albums & Auditions****- Haven't begun chapter three yet.**

**My progress absolutely sucks right now, and I'm not ashamed nor afraid to admit it.**

**Before I go, I wanna share something that I haven't been depending on lately, and I don't want ****_any _****of you to make the same mistakes that I'm making right now.**

**"The truth resembles a knife. When it's used carefully, the cuts are pristine. When used horrifically, the cuts are strewn everywhere. Be careful when you use the truth and ****only**** use the truth, because the lies only sharpen the blade."**

**-Me**

**Well...before this turns anymore awkward than it already is...**

**Bye.**


	3. Come Again Soon!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AUSTIN AND ALLY! If I did, I would probably writing the show instead of this story. Wait, I would still be writing this, I would just be writing something a wee bit more known across the world...**

**A/N: Thanks to all that told me that I should continue this story, it really does mean a lot to me! And sorry that I took like months to update!**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_8:30 AM_

16-year old Ally Dawson skipped happily down the staircase and into the preoccupied kitchen inside of her cute and cozy two-story house in Miami, Florida. She was greeted by a bright aroma of freshly made breakfast, most likely prepared by her father for the two before they start a long day of work at the family business, the _'Sonic Boom'._

Closing her eyes and smiling sweetly as she walked into the pancake-and-syrup-scented kitchen, she hummed a light and delicate tune under her breath. "Good morning, dad." She breathed out, stretching her arms and walking over to kiss her father on the cheek, just like any other morning.

"Morning, honey. How did you sleep?" He asked her, flipping on of the nearly-cooked pancakes on the griddle. He too was in a good mood this morning. I mean, who wouldn't be? The weather was perfect, not too hot or not too cold. The skies were big and blue, not a single cloud in sight. Birds were chirping vigorously to their own pleasure, managing to enlighten the ones who couldn't smile by their steady melody.

As she sat down in one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table, she replied "Great!"

After eating the delicious meal, the father and daughter drove off to their morning shifts at the Sonic Boom.

Like any other day, the first thing Ally made sure to do was to stow away her sacred songbook/diary beneath the counter so that she could be sure no one was to discover and read it.

"Guess who got a job at the T-shirt cart?" Her best friend since kindergarten, Trish, said in a sing-song voice as she strode into the store wearing a black T-shirt with the words _'I'm not bossy, I just know what you should be doing.'_**(1)** written in white letters across the middle.

Ally smiled warmly and unlocked the register. Closing the box, she looked back up at her latino amigo and replied, "What happened to your job at _Candy's Candy_?" She asked, remembering when her friend had told her about her latest job at _Candy's Candy_, a candy store that required her to wear a lollipop headband with a dress that looked like it was made out of sugary cavity-makers. Propping her elbow on the granite countertop and resting her chin inside the same arm, she tried to remember how long that job had lasted. _Was it five hours or four...? _She wondered.

Trish looked off to the side and dismissed it with a slight wave of her hand and walked over to the other side of the counter. "Eh, apparently when Candy told me that this job was going to be a blast, she didn't mean that you couldn't use the candy-cannons to make a sugar-wonderland." She said bluntly, shrugging her arms and raising the left curve of her mouth slightly.

Ally giggled. _Same old Trish..._ Suddenly, she opened her mouth, remembering to remind her friend about a poster she saw earlier. "Oh, Trish-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence however, due to a lanky red-head in brightly assorted colors running into the store exclaiming something about a monkey wearing a Hello Kitty bathing suit in his bedroom.

"I swear it was real! It had a face and a belly and everything!" He shouted, taking Ally's shoulders in his grasp and shaking her vigorously. His eyes were widened in fear and excitement as he told the story about how he woke up to it.

"I was just trying to make my virtual un-moving monkey come out of my computer screen, then it's identical twin came out of the printer, ready to eat me!" He shouted.

By now he was power-walking laps around the counter, circling the two girls as he was deep in thought.

"Dez," Trish sighed, slightly annoyed. "I think that you just printed the picture." She explained, refusing to make eye contact.

Just as he was about to protest for whatever reason, she cut in before he could do so. "And no, the monkey was _not_ going to eat you." She shook her head, incredulous to fight this early in the morning.

He stopped pacing mid-step and smiled brightly. "Thanks!" He perked up and started identifying shapes in the store wall with a giant magnifying glass. "Yep..." He confirmed. "This is _definitely_ Elvis tap-dancing on a jelly doughnut."

Ally looked at Dez, bewildered, as she opened up the cash register out of routine. "Dez... I don't think that a famous musician dancing on top of a pastry." She inquired, walking over to where Dez was looking at the _normal_ walls.

"No! It's true! See for yourself." He insisted, handing the large magnifying glass to her and pointing to his discovery.

And just like he had said, there it was, paint sloshed around to the point that it gave an optical illusion of Elvis Presley dancing on top of a jelly-filled doughnut.

"Wow," Ally breathed out, blinking. She thought that her mind was playing tricks on her, but it wasn't. "This is so cool!" She walking over to the next section of the wall and began to identify shapes. "Trish, look! It's a frog with a hat!" She exclaimed to her friend, who was standing right next to her. Why hadn't she seen these before? Oh yeah, that's right; she never thought about staring at a wall for hours would be a good, yet entertaining, past time.

Just as she discovered a shape that looked similar to a heart with a spoon in the middle of it, Austin Moon and Cassidy Williams walked in.

"Hey guys," they chorused. Recently, much to Ally's hidden dismay, began dating each other. They were happy together, but Cassidy knew that Ally had a crush on him. This was one of the main reasons that Ally took a special disliking to Cassidy. A few of the other reasons being simple, but still hurtful things: she sabotaged Ally's open-mic performance just so she could win, making a fool out of Ally in the process. Another was when Cassidy out shined her and Ally's school choir duet/solo. Cassidy was stronger than ever, but Ally's voice creaked too many times due to her sickness that Cassidy caused.

Ally had never felt more hated in her life. She thought she did something wrong, that's what she blamed it to. But little did she know that Cassidy's main goal for her adolescent years was to completely destroy Ally's reputation out of jealousy.

Trish was the first to greet them, giving Cassidy a warm hug and Austin a pat on the lower shoulder.

Once Ally laid her eyes on the joyful duo, she unintentionally frowned and set down the magnifying glass. Ally never considered herself the jealous type, but these two did wondrous things to her, in a bad way. Cassidy, or course, was the cause of all the infamous drama, but Austin's avarice for the spotlight got the best of him, so he joined in on the pain-causing. Once she made sure no one had seen her yet, Ally raced up the stairs to her practice room and shut the door quietly.

Thanks to Trish's highly sensitive ears, she heard something, or someone behind her move. She pivoted of the ball of her heel to see that her best friend was no longer in sight. And since she saw the magnifying glass that laid on the counter, she knew that Ally ran away from her problems, once again.

Trish shook her head lightly. She knew about the hate that Cassidy showed towards Ally and the friendship that Ally showed towards Cassidy. She tried to reason with Cassidy a numerous amount of times, but it never seemed to faze the waitress that her supposed best friend was suffering, and she all that she was doing was making it worse.

"Trish, did you hear anything that I said?" Cassidy dramatically yelled in front of Trish, clapping her hands together lightly to make her point. "God, you never listen to what I'm saying. It's like I'm talking to a brick wall!"

"Don't do it," Trish told herself. She knew that if she hit Cassidy in any way, then she would be banned from the mall. Then, she would never get to see Ally or get a new job here. She had to hold herself back. After all, Ally always told her that violence was never the answer.

She looked to the lanky ginger that was giving her a knowing look. He knew about it too. And just like Trish, he never said or did anything about it.

But Cassidy was right, Trish hadn't been listening to a word that came out of Cassidy's surgically remolded lips. She was too focused on the fact that she couldn't wait another second longer for Cassidy to get what she deserved: revenge.

"Trish wasn't listening," Dez confessed. What was he doing? He knew that Cassidy could become a bulldozer on heels whenever she got the slightest twinge of anger. "She was too focused on booking Austin a concert at the amateur-contest for the record deal prize. Trish was just trying to figure out what outfit Austin would wear on stage and what song would be best to perform." Good job, Dez. You just told her that, now Trish has to do more work than she's already doing. Oh well, it's better than being sent to the ER from a high heel to the neck.

The reason that Dez knew about the contest was because he was hanging out with Ally when they saw the poster next to Shelly's Shoe Shack. That was exactly what Ally was trying to tell Trish earlier, but she never got the chance.

Austin excitedly nodded his head and was quick to hug Trish. "Thanks, Trish! I could finally get a record deal, that would be so cool!" He gushed. Austin was a good person, but Cassidy was trying her best to get rid of that side, due to reputation purposes. Nobody wants a sweet, teddy bear. They all want somebody with a regular order at your local bar. At least, that's what Cassidy thought.

Inside the practice room, Ally sat there on the piano bench, trying to organize her thoughts for a song for either herself or Austin. And once she hopped onto one of her trains of thought, she knew what she wanted to write.

She was going to write about how she was going to be strong, even if there was nothing to be hopeful for. She wanted to call herself bulletproof, but how would that turn out? I'm bulletproof, you can't shoot me down? No, that was useless. She wanted to write about how Austin could be so oblivious to the hurt she was feeling. She wanted to write about how even sometimes she doesn't want to listen to Austin, because all he talks about is Cassidy. Whenever she wanted to tell him to stop talking about his girlfriend, she would only speak a few words, hoping that that would do the trick.

All of the sudden, she knew how she was going to write this. "Now, what's bulletproof..." Ally racked her brain for all of the periodic elements that would deflect a deadly bullet. Something that could deflect a _million_ bullets. Suddenly, her muse struck again, and she knew what she was going to be

She was going to be _titanium._

* * *

**A/N: Finished! Whew, that was awesome! I love writing in 3****rd**** person POV, it's fun! Now...here's the other stuff:**

**Question: What is your guilty pleasure song? Mine is the "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" by Veggie Tales. It's just a part of my childhood that I ****_refuse_**** to let go!**

**Quote By Me: "If mother nature was too happy, then we would live in a desert. If she was too sad, then we would live in a swamp. Everybody needs a little rain, and everybody needs a little sunshine."**

**That One Moment: When you make a joke, then nobody laughs, then somebody repeats the SAME joke the SAME way, then everybody laughs. **


	4. I'm Definitely Not Sure

Patrica De La Rosa, Ally's manager, was shouting into her ear piece. "What is she doing," she screamed. "She wasn't supposed to release her backstory until her interview tomorrow!" Her eyebrows were scrucnhed together and her teeth were pressing deep into her bottom lip.

Looking around frantically, she finally caught sight of the stage manager, Sadie White. She gripped Sadie's arm tightly to keep her from locating somewhere else or escaping.

"Trish, do you know what she's doing?" Sadie screamed over the white noise of the stadium. Just like Trish, and most of the backstage crew, she was discernibly panicking. She was tapping the top of her right foot on the black flooring and her arms crossed by psyche. She too, was hollering improvised instructions into her expensive microphone/ear piece.

Ally had not warned any of the crew about her story time. This meant that depending on the time it takes, she's going to have to refrain from preforming songs from her previous albums.

"Dez," Trish hollered into her ear piece, while pressing her finger on the "Talk" button. "Did you know she was going to do this?"

Dez was the main filmographer for all of Ally's concerts and tours. He had been Ally's best friend since they were fifteen, and he was highly talented in this category, so it was evident that he was the one she hired. Right now, he was crouching at the right wing of the stage, recording Ally's speech.

"No," he responded. "But this is amazing footage! Trish, you gotta keep in mind that just about every person in the nation, let along the world, has been waiting for this moment."

"What about the rest of the concert? And what about the press?" Production managers and backup dancers were crowding around Trish, leaving her no room to breathe. But she was used to this. After all, this happened at about every appearance her client made in public.

"We'll have to improvise. And as for the media, then Austin will finally be exposed and Ally may have coped with what she's been dealing with. I'm with Ally on this one, she deserves to have a few new voices to hear her story. And she may gt some great publicity for this. It's a win-win." Dez quickly magnified the lense to 210x and focused on Ally who had now sat on a wooden stool that was center-stage. He adjusted his camera on his shoulder so the shot was as align as he could make it. Taking four fingers and covering the top lense from the glaring lights, he signaled Mike, who was manning Camera 7, to start recording his share of the footage.

Dez exhaled smoothly and set the camera down gently on the ground, next to his feet.

"Dez, we could get into court for this. This isn't the 1800's; we can't get away with this much lowbrow on someone, even of it's deserved! And imagine the amount of flack we would receive from Austin's fans?" Trish was thinking about the worst-case scenarios. But deep down, she knew that there wasn't much flack that they would receive. In fact, there would most likely be no hate delieverd to them. After all, Austin had lost most of his fans when Ally quit the job as his songwriter. The news spread quickly, and the majority of the fans were not pleased with the carreer move. All of those fans quickly grew a negative perspective on Austin and supported Ally strongly through all of her carreer as a professional singer, songwriter, and actress.

However, the rest of the fans that stayed with Austin had somewhere lost their hope in the near famous blond when no new songs or concerts were heard of or talked about on Facebook or Tumblr.

In conclusion, Ally had unintentionally stole Austin's fanbase and added it to hers, which was burgeoning immensely.

Trish shook her head obscurely as she eyed her best friend, who was currently describing her average day that was ruined by two of her supposed best friends. "Oh, Ally," she whispered. "I hope you know what you're doing."

If only she knew what was to come after her performance.

* * *

Ally Dawson had just went over the chords for what seemed like the twentieth time. She could replay each sweet note in her head perfectly, she could recite each lyric by heart, she knew her song inside and out.

She spent hours working on the lyrics to get the powerful, yet soothing flow that she was determined to bring. She wanted every note played on the piano to correspond with how she felt right now, how she's felt for a long time.

Her hands were sore from writing so much rough draft music, playing so many spread out notes on the baby grand piano that stood strong throughout the entire process.

Ally silently chuckled to herself. The irony of the fact that the song was about staying strong, but Ally found herself to be tired and weak from so much effort that she managed to portray. But she loved the feeling, she loved how she was able to put her thoughts into music. She loved ow she could get the closure she needed without making a fool out of herself or without appearing unkind to anyone. Ally wanted to keep her reputation for being the nice and selfless pea in the pod, she couldn't let her silly little thoughts take that title from her. It would be easy to do so, so she always had to be in her guard for every little thing.

"One last time, Ally. One last time." She, once again, placed her sore finger muscles onto the ivory keys and pressed the first three chords, reciting the order in her head.

Then, she took a deep breath, and began to sing what her heart was beating for hear. "_You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say._" She looked down and began the next measure. "_I'm talking loud, not saying much._

I'm criticized, but all your bullets ricochet.

_You shoot me down, but I get up._"

In her mind, her thoughts were screaming at her to sing louder, to relieve them from this unspoken emotion and get rid of the negative thoughts, replacing them with inspirational thoughts instead.

"_I'm bulletproof, nothin' to lose. Fire away, fire away_."

At the sound of singing, Trish and Dez quietly crept up the staircase and pressed their ears to the door, eager to hear the finished product of Ally's masterpiece. They slowly smiled and sat against the wall, noting all of the emotion she screamed into her words. The two of them had known that all of this hate that Ally was receiving was uncalled for and innapropriate. And the fact that Ally did nothing to cope with the problem was dangerous, it could drive her to do something that she would regret, but not only that, she would never be able to forget it. Writing music to express her emotions was the best option for Ally to chooose. It would release her thoughts in a healthy way.

"_Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away._

_You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium._

_You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium._

_I am titanium_."

She belted out every note, not caring about her tired lungs, which were screaming at her to hydrate her system, but she refused. She need to be strong. She needed to be titanium.

She quickly swallowed the extra saliva that was forming in her mouth, making do with the only liquid she could supply at the moment. Her voice only had a break that lasted for a few seconds until she would ease into the second verse. Ally had to pull through, for she had not documented the music and was recording what she was playing. If she stopped now and rested, the. She would've forgotten most of the keys that she had to play and the words too.

"_Cut me down, but it's you who have ferther to fall._

_Ghost town and haunted love._

_Raise your voice. Sticks and stones may break my bones._

_I'm talking loud, not saying much._"

Then, she repeated the pre-chorus and, once again, belted out the chorus. She wanted "powerful" to be the one word that would describe her and the song. She had to make sure that her song was flawless, she couldn't afford to make any mistakes. If she messed up, then she worked diligently for hours for nothing. This was all for nothing.

"_Stone hard, machine guns._

_Fired at the ones who run._

_Stone hard, as bulletproof glass._"

There, she held the high note as long as she could. She closed her eyes to let the moment sink in. This was just her and the piano now, nobody else existed in this world.

She took a long breath and looked down at her hands, which by memory beginning to play the chorus, but this time the tone was softer.

"_Shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium._

_Shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium._

_Shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium._

_Shoot me down, but I won't fall._

_You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium._

_You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium._

_I am titanium._

_I am titanium. _

_I am titanium..._"

Trish suddenly thought of an idea that would do Ally good. "Dez," she whispered. "Can you somehow steal that CD and make a copy without Ally knowing?" she was hoping that Ally would finally get the recognition she deserved. Ally had pure tent coursing through the veins in her body. Her heart was beating at a rhythmic beat and even the way Ally demonstrated calligraphy was musical. And the best part about it was that it was all unintentional, Ally was born to play music. This was what she was mean to do. This was her destiny.

Dez smirked and reclined back onto the wooden railing. "Please," he scoffed in ignorance. "I could do that in my sleep." Then he went into deep thought. "I guess that's how my uncle Joe got ahold of my home movies."

Trish rolled her eyes at the ginger and suddenly realized something. It was quiet. Her heart skipped a beat once she heard footsteps avenging toward her and Dez. She immediately lied down onto the dirty carpet and sprawled her arms away from each other. "Quick, act like you're asleep." She commanded.

Luckily, Dez caught on quickly and aped Trish's position. He too closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply, doing his best to act like he was sleeping.

The door slowly opened with a creaking noise coming from it. Ally stood there with her hand still on the golden doorknob as she spotted her two best friends, who were sleeping on the dirty ground. She sighed and shook her head vaguely. "Those two, what am I ever going to do with them?" She asked herself. Smiling at the moment, Ally simply stepped over her two friends and crept down the staircase, careful to not make too much noise as she went.

Once Ally had left the store, Trish and Dez abruptly stood up and balanced themselves, for the sudden change in position had given them dizziness. As they regained alignment, Dez opened up the door while Trish looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching them. At Trish's signal, which was a nod, they entered the room and began to search for the CD that contained Ally's song, which they assumed was titled "Titanium."

"Got it." Trish announced. She held up a blue disc that was titled "Titanium," just as they had guessed.

Dez quickly snatched it from Trish's grasp and tucked it into his pant pocket. "Let's go before Ally comes back."

Trish, who was astounded by his eager actions, just did as she was told and followed Dez out of the store.

Meanwhile, at Austin's house, Austin and Cassidy were watching a chick flick. Austin's arm was draped around Cassidy's shoulder and her head was nuzzled into the crook of his neck. Austin looked down at his girlfriend, who's attention was directed at the large screen, and smiled warmly. He was comfortable, and he did treasure this time, but he couldn't rid the thought in his head that told him that this wasn't right.

Without coming back to reality, Austin felt a cold pair of lips press against his, catching him off guard. His eyes snapped open, wider than he should be, and realized that he was being kissed.

But once again, he couldn't help but feel that this wasn't right. He couldn't help but feel that none of this was right. Mentally kicking the thoughts out of his head, he sunk into the kiss and returned it with pleasure. And even after all that, it still didn't feel right.

* * *

**And that is the end of this chapter for "Inflamed By Hate." Now here's some stuff that SOME of you don't read:**

**Responses to Reviews:**

**The Ace of Owls- I did the same thing! Not joking! The song sucked, but it was still funny! Well, I didn't do the concerts, I don't have the guts to do that.**

**Animeadict678- Pancakes in top? Really? OMG OMG OMG I'll give you this update in exchange for pancakes!**

**Isazu- Thanks :)**

**Question****: What is that one thing you absolutely CANNOT stand? Mine is when people say the word "Normal." I HATE that word!**

**Quote By Me:**** "You can only hope to shape the future, not change the past."**

**Moment****: When you're early for something and have no idea what to do.**

**OKAY, so until my next update...**

**BYE!**


	5. I Don't Know Who You, But I'm With You

**OMG, I uploaded this, and it only got like a fourth of it uploaded! So here is the full version of this chapter:**

**Hey guys, what's up? This is Kf103Pixie with the fourth chapter for 'Inflamed By Hate.' So I hope you guys like it and tell me what you think about it. Criticism is greatly welcomed! I also take questions, comments, concerns, and happy thoughts. Anyways, on with the story!**

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Ally screamed at Trish and Dez from behind the register at Sonic Boom.

Dez held up a hand, saying "I got this," and said, "Trish and I stole your demo and gave it to the same record company as Austin so you could get a deal! Uh, your welcome!" He rolled his eyes, almost as if Ally was the one that was falling behind.

"I know what you said, Dez," Ally explained, "but I just don't understand why you would do something like that when you both know that I have stage fright and that I'm happy where I am." Ally's eyebrows raised in worry as she complained.

"As a songwriter, you're happy, but not a person!" Trish said, stating the truth that Ally denied to face. "All you ever do is get pushed around by two people who are supposed to be your best friends, not your enemies." Trish then took Ally's shoulders and began to shake her. "You have to face it, they're not your friends and you're not happy where you are!"

"Trish is right," Dez declared, taking a banana out of his backpack and peeling it. "Austin and Cassidy are just using you for the fame and glory while you sit behind in the shadows crying in your sleep." Okay, Dez knew he over exaggerated a little bit, but it was close enough to the truth! Ally barely got any credit for the songs that she did anymore, and everybody was becoming sick of the new Austin that Cassi-Wassi introduced. Dez shuttered at the nickname that Austin came up with. Austin said it was cute, but Dez thought it sounded like a drunk cowboy talking through a snorkel.

"But what about my stage fright," Ally interjected. "I couldn't even read my poem in front of my English class last week!"

Trish crossed her arms and looked at her best friend. "We can work on that. And besides, it's not like you're going to be performing in front of them live. All you have to do it give them your demo―"

"―Which you stole―"

"―then tell them about how awesome Ally Dawson would be as a superstar."

Ally's father, Lester, walked up to them from upstairs and said, "My Ally being a superstar? What happened to your stage fright?" He asked, turning to his daughter.

"I still have my stage fright, Dad. And Trish and Dez are making me go to a record label this Friday at 7 to 9 P.M. so I can get away from Austin and Cassidy to become some pop star." Ally explained, fully confident that her father would take her side on this.

"Okay," Lester said, and Ally's heart rose. "I'll pick you up at nine." Then it sunk.

"Thank you, Mr. D," Trish and Dez thanked at the same time. Lester then waved at them, kissed Ally's cheek, then left.

_** That Night**_

Jimmy Starr sat in his black office chair as he looked over Ally's file one last time. "Ms. Dawson, I understand that you're the songwriter for one of my clients, Austin Moon." At Ally's nod, he continued. "I'm very sorry, but we can't accept you if you're already writing songs for Mr. Moon." He apologized, but there was no sympathy to his tone at all, his voice was very.… boring.

Ally nodded her head once more, understandingly, and asked, "Might I ask why I can't have a deal here?" She crossed her left leg over the right and set her intertwined hands in her lap, trying to look professional.

"Even though it would be convenient having the two of you in the same building, we can't risk Austin losing his songwriter if you make it." Somewhere, deep inside his mind, he was glad that he didn't give Ally the record deal. He could have, but he chose not to. Austin Moon was his favorite client, and also his daughter's, and he didn't want his only child to be sad to see that her celebrity crush went down in the drain all because of some snobby songwriter who had a worthless little dream.

"I understand, sir," Ally said, standing up, "and I guess I'll see you Sunday for Austin's recording for his new single?" Shaking his hand politely, she noticed something evil behind his eyes.

But he just gave her a crimson smile with no other emotion to be found. "Goodbye, Ms. Dawson." And that was a little too scary for Ally's liking. Then, he walked out of the room, slamming the door in the process, causing Ally to jump in shock.

Why didn't he let her go through? Was she not good enough? Was it because she looked too weak to be in the music business? _No,_ she thought whilst shaking her head, _there must be some other reason. Besides, Jimmy seemed like me liked me before this meeting. But now, he's just plain ….creepy._

Suddenly, a loud clad of thunder struck, followed by the pouring of rain. _Great, this is just fantastic._

_** Unknown: It's hard to touch the sky when you're always going to be on the bottom. XOXO**_

Why …why would someone send that to her? And how did the person ever get her number in the first place? Ally willed herself not to cry. She already told herself countless times that she would never be any better than just the petty songwriter who is pushed over the cliff every single day. She gripped the heart necklace that was dangling from her neck, needing someone to comfort her when she was all alone in the cold room.

_ Clack!_

The rip of thunder scared Ally, causing her heart to skip a beat, frightening her even more. _I can't stay here any longer,_ she told herself.

Realizing that it was probably nine already, Ally grabbed her guitar that she brought with her just incase and turned the golden doorknob, hoping that there would be some sort of highlight to this mess. Ally maneuvered her way through the corridors and into the main lobby, keeping to herself.

She looked over at the receptionist and gave her a small smile, but the lady just stared at her with these intense eyes, like she was planning Ally's murder by the second. Ally just labeled this as her time of the month, and pushed the front doors open and stepped out into the cold night.

She scanned the parking lot for her father's white SUV, but there were no cars but a couple, and they didn't belong to her family. Ally gingerly checked her digital watch on her wrist, seeing at the time was 9:07. Maybe he was running late. _Yeah, that's it!_ To prove her point, she pulled out her phone to check for any notifications, but there wasn't any when she hit the home button. She frowned, her father always told her everything even if it was just a slight glitch in the game.

Ally dialed her father's number into the keypad and held it to her ears.

_Ring…..Ring…..Ring…..__**"Hi, it's Lester. Sorry I can't come to my phone right now, please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."**_

_"_Hey, Dad, it's Ally. I was just wondering if you were running late or something. Anyway, just call or text me where you are, because it's practically storming outside and I don't have a jacket. Bye," then she hung up and sat down on the bench, feeling the raindrops soak into her jeans. _This is going to look awkward, _she thought.

_ Well, time for plan B._ Ally pressed a few buttons on the touch screen to call her aunt, who lived just a few miles away from _Starr Records. _

_Ring…..Ring…..Ring…..__**"**__**Hey, it's Cindy, sorry that I couldn't get to my phone in time! Just leave me your message, and I'll get back to 'ya!"**_

Ally sighed deeply and said, "Hey, Cindy, it's Ally here and I was wondering if you could pick me up at Starr Records ASAP since my dad isn't answering my calls. So...yeah, bye!" Ally ended awkwardly, shuddering at how she could be such the odd one.

Now, forty-five minutes have passed and Ally's called everyone on her contact list, but nobody's answered, not one person. Ally began to felt even more cold as she paced back and forth on the bridge that she was standing on, and even more lonely as the time passed. Sucking in the air, Ally threw her head forward and sneezed. She knew that she was going to her a cold, so she made her way to the subway station that was right under the street that she was standing on.

Ally gained odd looks from people that were holding their umbrellas as they were carefully scaling the steep staircase. She gripped the handle to her guitar case tighter as she caught a little girl, not even four years old, staring right at her. _Just find someone that will be with you no matter what, _Ally told herself. These were the words that she always thought whenever she was facing a fear that nearly turned her stomach inside and out.

Now that Ally thought about it, she couldn't ask someone off of the streets to be with her and drive her home, they would probably mug her even though she didn't have any money and her phone battery just died.

_Can't this night get any better? I'm desperate here, just give me a bed to sleep on at least! _She begged silently as she sat down on the empty bench, her leg bouncing up and down off the ground and her fingers tapping anxiously on her other knee.

A tear slid out of her eye and down her cheek, symbolizing the fear that was creeping on her. She quickly wiped it away and rubbed the drop on her pant leg. _I've gotta find a way to get out of here,_ she decided. _But how exactly will I be able to do that?_

"Excuse me," said an old man, "is this seat taken?" At Ally's nod, he sat down next to her. "Are you waiting for a parent?" He asked her.

Ally nodded. "I'm waiting for anybody who could take me home. Nobody's answering my calls and my father was supposed to pick me up about an hour ago, but he forgot to tell me so." The man's look softened and he placed his hand on Ally's shoulder.

"I would give you money for a cab ride, but I don't have my wallet and my wife―whom I'm waiting for―has my phone." He explained with a sympathetic tone, then he looked down and noticed her instrument. "In the movies I've seen, the person always plays an instrument in a public place and everything turns out all right." But Ally shook her head.

"I only have my guitar with me because I was going to a meeting that my friend's set up to see if I could get a deal, but the producer turned me down."

The man cocked his head in confusion. "But why don't you play to get money for a cab?" After Ally telling him about her stage fright and why she was even trying out for a record deal, he nodded his head.

"So yeah," Ally said awkwardly, "I can't really perform unless you feel like seeing the floor covered in my lunch."

Remembering helping his wife of 52 years get over her fear of giving oral presentations, he thought that he could help the sweet, mannerly girl who he saw a lot of potential in. "If you're a songwriter, then write a song for me. Then after you're done, sing it for me."

Ally was beyond confused. She never once met a person who took so much interest in her love of music except Trish and Dez. And even they didn't come up with a plan like this to help out their best friend.

Another thirty minutes have passed now and Ally was writing ferociously on the notepad that he lent her along with a pencil that was tucked behind his ear. She kept on telling the man, who's name was Roger, that she would really sing it to him once she was finished with the original song that she was coming up with by the second.

Ally smiled brightly, looked up Roger proudly and showed him the notepad for him to see the lyrics and guitar cords. "It's done!" Ally started to bite on her fingernails nervously, she had no idea if Roger would like the song or not.

"It's a little rushed, but―" Ally started, but was interrupted by Roger waving his hand.

"Sweetheart, this song is phenomenal! It's almost like talking to the female and modern version of Michael W. Smith or Michael Bublẻ in person." He praised. Ally heart swelled with joy and she could feel her cheeks burning. She had never, _ever_, gotten so much praise before, except for when her mom would hear her play Mozart in the earlier years.

"Do you really think so?" Ally asked quietly. Smiling warmly, he patted her knee and said, "I know so." But then Ally figured out what was to come now. "So now I have to perform."

Roger shook his head lightly. "That's only if you decide to. Remember, this is your life, you can't let someone else run it for you."

_Huh, _Ally thought, _this __**is **__my life. And I can do whatever the heck I want with it. So if I want to get over my stage fright and perform, then I could do something that I never thought I'd be able to do._

"I'll do it!" Ally decided, receiving the notepad back from Roger and giving him instructions to flip the page whenever she was done with those lyrics.

Roger leaned in and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Ally nodded her head firmly and said, "I've never been so sure of something in my life." Boy, she knew that she was climbing a mountain without a harness, but the risk was worth the take. She propped her aqua blue guitar on her leg and began strumming.

_I'm standin' on a brige,_

_I'm waitin' in the dark,_

_I thought that you'd be here by now._

Her voice came out quiet and shaky, and Ally corrected that immediately.

_There's nothin' but the rain_

_And footsteps on the ground_

_I'm listening but there's no sound._

Some people began to look at Ally as she sung, and Ally remembered why she had stage fright in the first place. She stopped strumming her guitar and hung her head in shame. "I can't do this," she whispered. "It's all just too much: the pressure and everybody's looking at me―"

"Then don't look at them. And besides, this means that you're overcoming your fear. If you can write a song in well over thirty minutes, well child, there isn't anything a girl like you can't do." And those were exactly the words that Ally needed. Soon, she began strumming the same cords again, feeling more confident in herself.

_I'm standin' on a brige,_

_I'm waitin' in the dark,_

_I thought that you'd be here by now._

_There's nothin' but the rain_

_And footsteps on the ground_

_I'm listening but there's no sound._

Ally closed her eyes as she sung, not wanting to see if people were looking at her or not.

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

_It's a dim, cold night_

_Tryin' to figure out this life._

_Won't you,_

_Take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I, I'm with you..._

_I'm with you, mmmm..._

All of the sudden, she started hearing less commotion in the subway. Then she realized that it was because she became one with the music and there was nobody else in the area.

_I'm lookin' for a place,_

_Searchin' for a face,_

_Is there anybody here I know?_

_'Cause nothin's goin' right_

_And everything's a mess_

_And no one like to be alone, oh_

_Isn't anyone tryin' to find me?_

_Won't somebody come take me home?_

Ally's curiosity shot up when she heard clapping to the beat of the song. Her eyes opened and she saw that there was a group of people gathered around her, throwing money into her guitar case that laid in front of her. She smiled lightly and kept on singing.

_It's a dim, cold night_

_Tryin' to figure out this life._

_Won't you,_

_Take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I, I'm with you..._

_I'm with you_

_Yeah-yeah, oh_

_Why is everything so confusing?_

_Maybe I'm just out of my mind_

_Yeah yeah-yeah yeah-yeah_

_Yeah-yeah yeah-yeah yeah whoa!_

The tone of the song slowed down, almost as if she was trying to soothe a crying infant.

_It's a dim, cold night_

_Tryin' to figure out this life_

_Won't you, _

_Take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I, I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

_Take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I, I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

_Take me by the hand_

_Take me somewhere new_

_I don't know who you are_

_But I, I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

_I'm with you_

As Ally strummed the last cord of the song, she looked up to see a large group of people clapping for her. She then looked down at her guitar case to see that it was full of dollar bills and various coins. Her smiled widened as she looked up again to see that a little girl, not even three, standing in front of her with a silver, digital camera in her hands.

"Can I take a picture with you?" The small child asked shyly. Ally nodded her head and grabbed the camera, wrapped her arm around the little girl, and took the picture, unable to contain the excitement the was radiant from her aura.

"Thank you!" The little girl said and wrapped her arms around Ally and left, trotting to her mother who scooped her in her arms.

"Excuse me, Miss," a middle-aged man who's black hair was slicked back said, "My name's Josh Jackson and I'm a producer from Universal Records." Josh shook Ally's hand and took something out of his expensive pants, what seemed to be his card. "Now I heard your performance and I was wondering if you would like to come over to Los Angeles sometime. You know, if you're interested in having a deal with us." Ally's jaw dropped in shock and she felt Roger's hand squeezing her shoulder.

She stood up and nodded her head with as much zen as she could muster at the moment. "Yes, I would love to. Mr. Jackson, I'm honored." Mr. Jackson shook Ally's hand once more and smiled genuinely.

"Please, call me Josh. And will I be seeing you around?" He asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," Ally responded, "same goes to you." And as soon as Josh left, she attacked Roger in a hug. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Roger stumbled back in shock and chuckled.

"Now, Dear, this was all your doing. I was just the one who convinced you to take the risk." And Ally thanked him for that too, then sat down and began counting the amount of money that she had.

This all seemed too unreal. Never once had she heard of somebody making over TWENTY DOLLARS whilst performing ONE song!

"Oh my god ….I have enough for a cab to get home!" Ally realized. She had already estimated that the price would be somewhere around twenty dollars, and she counted up to ….THIRTY!

"Thank you again, Roger, I wouldn't have performed if it wasn't for you." Again, Roger waved his hand in dismissal.

He put his hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye, and said, "Just get home, darling." But before Ally left, Roger slipped her a thin piece of paper that had his name and phone number on it. "Just in case you need another grandpa." Thanking him again, Ally pushed the money into her pocket, closed her guitar case, and rushes up the stairs where there were empty cabs lined by the sidewalk, waiting for somebody who needed a ride.

Ally jogged up the porch steps that were standing in front of her house happily. Once she looked up and saw that all the lights were on, she figured that she had just left them on before she left. Ally took the spare key from behind the bush plant and unlocked the door.

"Hello?" She called out and heard the football game blaring from the TV in the living room.

"PASS IT, PASS IT! COME ON BURNEY EVEN MY DAUGHTER COULD THROW A PASS BETTER THAN THAT!" Ally immediately recognized the person yelling as her father. She ran up to the living room and paused the game, causing Lester to turn around in shock.

He smiled warmly and half-hugged his daughter. "Who ended up taking you home?" He asked simply, as if she knew that he wasn't going to pick her up.

"What do you mean 'who took me home'? Dad, you just stood me up without even telling me!" Ally argued, gaining a perplexing face form her father.

"Ally, I texted you, telling you that I wasn't going to be able to come and get you." Ally unlocked her phone in frustration, opened up the conversation between her and her father.

"The last message you sent me was two days ago when you told me that you wanted me to come pick you up at the airport." Ally deadpanned. She knew that she was probably going to prove her father wrong.

But when he held the conversation on his phone, two new texts were apparently sent to her. One saying that he wouldn't be able to make it and the other saying that she should probably call Aunt Cindy.

Ally stuttered, how did this happen? Was her phone's internet now working? That would explain why nobody had answered her calls. "Then what happened?" She asked him, almost scared of the answer, even though it was probably just a glitch.

Little did she know that Austin and Cassidy were together in the practice room on the computer looking at the information of a certain smart phone.

"Cass, maybe this wasn't the best idea, Ally's our friend." Austin argued. He currently was sitting in the chair, monitoring the signals coming form her phone that weren't able to be connected to other devices.

"Austin, baby," Cassidy cooed as she rubbed Austin's shoulders. "she's trying to make it on her own so she can put you in the drain. She never cared for you, she just wanted the fame." She assured the lie even further, smiling evilly at her plan that would ruin Little Miss Perfect.

"But then why would she tell me that she had stage fright?" Austin asked, turning around to face the blond devil who was disguised as an angel.

"Because she wanted you to give her all that recognition, just so she could make you seem like a fool for working for her." Cassidy rubbed her fingers through Austin's soft hair and placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Austin started to feel a little uncomfortable around Cassidy, especially around times like these.

"Don't worry," Cassidy whispered in his ear. "She deserves to know that she can't manipulate people into getting whatever she wants."


	6. Who Knows?

**Okay, first things first, read the last chapter, because when most of you guys read it, there was only like a quarter of it uploaded. So, check back there, then come back here for this chapter, this was nothing's confusing.**

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Ally was sitting in the practice room during her first break for today, staring at the business card she had received just a couple nights ago. None of it seemed real to me, but whenever she pinched myself or blinked, it was still there.

Being the paranoid girl she always had been, she called the office number on the card, just to be sure. Heck, she even looked up the address on Google Maps, and it still seemed like it wasn't a scam.

Startling her from her thinking, the door that connected the practice room to the rest of the store opened and Austin walked in. Taking a quick glance at him, Ally quickly hid the card in her right pocket, not sure how he would react if he saw the card..

"Hey," She said, forcing a tight smile. "What are you doing here?" Ally crossed her toes. contemplating whether or not she should tell him about that night with Jimmy and Josh Jackson, the record producer who offered her a deal.

Austin walked around the room awkwardly, not feeling comfortable after what he and Cassidy did to her. He felt awful, but he still did it.

"I was wondering how your meeting with Jimmy went the other night. I didn't see you yesterday, so I'm asking now." Austin took a seat on the black office chair and sat in it backwards, placing his arms on the top and looking at his _friend_ with a sympathetic expression.

Ally looked back at her book, closed it, then looked back at Austin. "He said that he didn't want to give me a deal. Basically, having me as a songwriter for you and a recording artist on the side isn't the best decision." Ally gave a fake smile that said 'what can you do?'. She got up and walked over to the yellow couch with pink polka-dots, grabbing her half-filled water bottle and taking a sip out of it.

Austin got up and walked over to Ally, sitting next to her. Nudging her with his shoulder, he said, "I'm sorry, Alls. He doesn't know what he's missing." Austin nudged her with his shoulder, which she returned, making them both laugh. Austin leaned over and gave her a hug, but then remembered what Cassidy had told him about how Ally was just using him for the chance at fame.

"So, how did the rest of the night go?" Austin asked, leaning away and propping his feet up on the cheap coffee table. He lazily put his arms over the top of the couch, not realizing how much he wanted his left to be around Ally.

Ally took a deep breath. Should she tell him about what happened that night? About how she was offered a record deal from Universal Studios after one song, while Austin took months just to get his first opportunity from a recording studio that wasn't as great?

She figured that she could tell him about everything else, and maybe add a few white lies, just so the story would add up.

"You see," Ally said, taking a deep sigh. "After he rejected me, I left. I waited for over forty-five minutes in the pouring rain waiting for my dad, but he didn't show. I called everybody I knew, but none of them answered. Then, I went over to the subway station so I wouldn't catch a cold. While I was waiting, a nice old man gave me money for a cab home." She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that the story was convincing enough, considering she thought of it at the top of her head.

Austin looked down at the carpet and swiveled slightly in the comfortable chair. "How come nobody answered their phones?" He said, palms beginning to sweat. He was nervous that he would burst out, telling Ally about how him and Cassidy sabotaged her phone. He felt awful about it, and he was afraid that the second he looked Ally in her warm, brown eyes, he would confess.

Ally's eyebrows arched her eyebrows at the blond's weird behavior. "Austin," she cautiously dragged out, "are you okay?" She sat on the piano bench and put her hand on Austin's lower arm, looking at him worriedly in the eyes.

Austin was now more nervous than ever. His eyes flickered from Ally's pleading eyes to her warm, soft hand that was causing Austin's mind to go numb. He knew that if he told her, than she would be crushed. Granted, that's that his _girlfriend_ wanted, but that's not what he wanted at the moment.

"What else happened?" Austin squeaked out.

Ally's heart began to beat quicker. She knew that he knew something else about that night, but she didn't to make him feel bad.

Then, she remembered that another thing that wasn't related to Josh Jackson. "When I got home, my dad said that he texted me that he couldn't make it, saying that I should call my aunt, Cindy. After I told him that he didn't send me any texts, he showed me his phone and on his, it showed that they were sent to me―"

"But they weren't."

"Right," Ally pursed her lips together while she thought. _I wonder what's going on with him? Maybe it's something with Cassidy._ Ally looked down, realized that she was still touching Austin's arm, which made her stomach heat up and do flips in place. Her hand retreated, already feeling embarrassment, and thought that she gave Austin an impression that she liked him, when she didn't.

_Besides, he has a girlfriend who's got him wrapped around her finger, so he wouldn't like me back even if he does._

* * *

After Austin and Ally talked, Ally left, saying that she should go meet Trish at Mini's for lunch. She was glad that she had an excuse, because now she wasn't looking at Austin in the same lighting anymore.

She now saw something to be nervous about. Whenever he looked at her, she was afraid that she would say something wrong. If he had one small hair on his jacket, she noticed it, making sure to use that as an excuse for her to touch him, even if it was just for a few seconds. Whenever he was talking to another girl while she was trying to work on something, she couldn't concentrate. Whenever he smiled at her while talking, she gave a big smile back and looked at him in his piercing eyes.

Ally knew that if she told a soul, then it would be the end of her. Besides, he's her best _friend_, not some cute stranger that smiled at her while she was talking to Trish.

Rushing over to the food court area at the mall, she rushed over to Trish once she spotted her famous black and curly hair, but something surprised her.

She saw that Cassidy was also accompanying their table. Ally didn't recall anybody else joining hers and Trish's plans. _Especially that slut who thinks she's all that,_ Ally thought unknowingly, not even realizing the words crossed her mind.

"Hey guys," Ally said, sitting down at the other chair and grabbing a small chip from the chip plate that was in the middle of the table. She smiled at Trish's smile, which obviously told her that she was happy to have Ally here, but Cassidy just kept on talking, throwing a single glance at the brunette.

Cassidy took a sip of her strawberry smoothie that she ordered from a place outside of the mall. Once she stopped talking and took her first breath in five minutes, she got up, whispered something in Trish's ear while placing a hand on her shoulder, then left.

Ally looked at Cassidy weirdly. "What did she say?" She asked Trish.

Trish's eyes held a worry expression, so to find a white lie that would do, she looked around the mall and spotted _Forever 21_ having their Summer Sale. Looking back at Ally, she said, "Cassidy was telling me how you really couldn't pull off anything that _Forever 21_ sells." Trish hated lying to Ally, but she couldn't risk being the one to spill about Ally being ditched by everyone.

Ally nodded, but didn't buy it. Trish had bought her multiple things from that store and said that she looked great in them. _Was she trying to make me look desperate? _Ally thought._ No, Trish wouldn't do that._ Ally leaned in closer and began to whisper. "Can I tell you something?" She said. At Trish's nod, she continued.

"Last night, Jimmy rejected me, but he seemed like he wasn't rejecting me because I wasn't good. It's almost like, he didn't do it because he wanted to make someone else happy." Ally threw another chip into her mouth and began chewing on it. "Then when I left," she said in between bites, "I tried to call everybody I had in my contact list, because my dad didn't show, and it was almost 10:00, but no one answered." She swallowed and looked down at her hands which were clasped together. This was the part that she hadn't told a single soul about. "I went down to the subway station because it started to storm. There, I met an old man who talked to me about my stage fright, and inspired me to write a song, which I later performed with my guitar. I was so excited, I had made enough money for a cab home, but I got something that would get me a limo." Ally looked up at Trish in nervousness to see that the Latina was anxiously waiting for the rest of the story.

"What would earn you a limo?" She practically yelled. Ally's hand slammed over Trish's mouth and signaled her to be quiet.

"I was offered a record deal with Josh Jackson from Universal Records." Ally's smile broke out form its shell and she squealed silently, cheering in her seat.

Trish's eyes widened. "_The _Josh Jackson?" She asked incredulously, now bouncing in her chair.

* * *

"_Yeah, he gave me his card after my performance and told me to give him a call!_" Ally exclaimed, and the squeals that were heard sounded muffled in the ear piece that Cassidy was wearing as she was watching a movie with Austin at the mall theater.

Austin heard voices, so he looked around. "Did you hear that?" He whispered to Cassidy, bringing her closer with his arm that was draped around her.

Cassidy looked at him weirdly. "No," she said. She knew that she was a good actress, and a master manipulator, so she used that to her advantage and was going to continue that for the rest of Austin's fame and fortune-filled life.

Turning back to the bright screen, she scowled. It was all because of her plan that Ally got the deal in the first place. All she wanted was for the pathetic girl to be stranded in the city in the middle of the night. She didn't want Trish to spoil her plan that she told her, so she put a chip on Trish's shoulder when she left. Now, she was grateful that she did that, because if they all ditched Ally, then she would have a backup plan.

Her goal now was to destroy that offer that she didn't even deserve and get what she wants.

* * *

**I know, I know, that was the shortest chapter I have ever written in my history, but I had no other ideas for the time being. So…what did you think of the mini-post? Like it? Hate it? Just tell me so, that way I know how to make this story better.**

**Question: What's the scariest part of a thunder storm to you? Mine's when the thunder rips in the sky. Makes me jump every time.**

**That One Moment: When you look back at your old posts on FaceBook and realize how stupid you were back then.**

**Quote By Me:"The reason that the word 'Good' is longer than the word 'Bad' is because there's more good in people than bad."**

**Responses to Reviews:**

**EmilyAyana19- Sweetie, I already have! UPDATE FOR THE LOVE OF MUFFIN BUTTONS!**

**UnitIdentified- Hey, if someone asks, blame it on me! And I'm guilty for doing the same thing…**

**queenc1- Okay, I just wanna give you an award. You've read, like, EVERY SINGLE STORY for Austin and Ally! Dude, I just…I applaud you for being the person who reads the most out of every one of us.**

**Le come…**

**LEGO!**


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